DCAU: Justice League Future - Season 1 - The Savage Earth
by Jupitus Garth
Summary: Vandal Savage had laid in wait. For one hundred years he plotted to take control of the Earth. He succeeded. Set around 100 years after Batman Beyond. - This story will be episodic. Each update will be a full episode of around six chapters. Also, I wasn't sure what category to put it in, so I put it in a crossover category because it's its own thing and takes pieces from all over.
1. Ep01-Ch01

**A Savage Future Part 01**

**Chapter 1**

The sounds of footfalls echoed in the dark alleyways, accompanied by shouts and the occasional blast of energy weapons fire. The young woman of eighteen years dared not slow her pace for even a moment as she scrabbled around a corner, avoiding some debris strewn on the pavement that had fallen from the old building. She was currently deep within the abandoned section of the ancient Chinese city of Xi'an. It had once been a great city, but now, it was merely a husk of what it had been.

As she ran through a puddle, her footfalls turned the water into steam as parts of her orange outfit began to glow bright yellow, as did her eyes. She held out her palms, and bright yellow bolts of energy shot out of her hands, striking the fallen debris behind her, causing it to erupt into flames. She didn't bother to see if it slowed them down as she picked up her pace, almost slipping as she ran around another corner only to find more approaching from the front.

They were Vandal Savage's Enforcers, and while not nearly as dangerous as his Elites, who all had superpowers, they were still deadly. Especially in numbers.

"Stop!" one of them shouted, speaking English. "Do not flee or you will be shot!"

Knowing she couldn't allow them to capture her, she fired bolts of energy at the building that lay to the side between her and the Enforcers. The wall exploded, sending debris down blocking their advance. With Enforcers still coming up from the rear and with no other choice, she aimed her palms downwards at the ground and clenched her jaw. One moment the alleyway was in near darkness, the next there was a blinding light as beams of energy erupted from her palms, ripping the old concrete to pieces as the force launched her up into the air. By the time she reached the roof, she had torn great trenches into the ground, but that was not her concern. Getting away from the Enforcers was.

The young Chinese woman ran, leaping from one building to another. Thankfully the gap was rather small, though unfortunately, the other roof was not only wet but also at an angle causing her to slip. She cursed the lousy weather they had been having as she fell on her backside and slid down towards the edge, only just managing to stop the four-storey fall as she grabbed onto the old guttering. Her legs dangled precariously above certain doom.

As she tried to pull herself back up onto the roof, the gutter broke away, leaving her with nothing but gravity to pull her down to her death. Only she didn't intend on dying, not today. Once more, the darkened area was blazed in yellow light as she used her energy beams to slow her descent, gouging troughs through the concrete and into the dirt below.

With a slight grunt she landed with a stagger, her footing uneasy in the steaming uneven trench she had fashioned. Knowing she couldn't wait, she climbed out and continued to run in the hope that she could still lose the Enforcers. It wasn't to be.

With a sudden gust of wind, the young woman found herself slammed up against a wall. It took a few moments for her to realise that she was staring into the yellow-tinted goggles of the short blonde-haired Elite known as Killer Quick. She wore all white with black glossy gloves, a glossy belt and black glossy boots. The basic design of the uniform was the same for all Elites, though some wore bracers instead of gloves while others had nothing on their wrists at all

"Going somewhere?" the speedster asked with a sick smile on her face.

The young woman struggled in her grip for a few moments before she became still.

"That's it, give up," Killer Quick said. "You don't have to die like your friends."

Giving up was not something she intended on doing, and Killer Quick would soon find out why she was not one to be cornered.

The young Chinese woman began to glow as her internal temperature skyrocketed. The speedster let her go with a pained yelp as she held her burned hand to her chest. Not a moment later there was a blinding burst of energy which sent the Elite flying into a wall.

Not wasting the moment afforded her, she pointed her hands down towards the ground and once more used her energy beams to launch herself into the air, the force and energy once more churning up the old concrete like butter. She didn't get very far, though, as she was intercepted by another Elite, one that could fly without turning the ground to mush.

The Tamaranean Elite known as Kasab slammed into her and sent her hurtling through a roof. She landed painfully, covered in dust and debris. Her whole body ached, and her brain rattled, causing the room around her to spin like a carousel.

With some effort, she picked herself up off of the floor, her legs shaky and her balance uneasy. Her attention was drawn to the shirtless Tamaranean as he descended down through the hole in the ceiling, a fierce glare etched on his face. With a growl he reared back his fist and shot forward, the young woman barely managing to raise an energy shield before his fist connected, sending her through the floor, landing on the rotted wood below.

With a scream of frustration, she began to blast bolts and beams of energy upwards towards the Tamaranean Elite in the hopes of hitting him. He easily dodged her attacks before flying down through the hole, ready to either kill or capture her. She wasn't going to let either happen, not now and not ever.

As he reached down to grab her, she charged up her left fist, striking him hard in the jaw, her strength amplified by raw energy. He flew uncontrolled through a wall giving her the chance to get back to her feet. Not allowing him to do the same, she began to blast bolts at him, screaming at the top of her lungs. For a moment, he cried out in pain, but a gust of wind cut the young hero's victory short.

He was gone.

Killer Quick.

She had almost forgotten about her, and her speed made her hard to hit. From what she had heard, the speedster was nowhere near as fast as The Flash from the history books, but she was still fast enough to be extremely dangerous, which the Elite proved not a second later as she came speeding in with a fist to the young woman's face.

In an instant, she was crashing back down to the floor, her face throbbing and her head spinning. It would have been easier to give up, but that wasn't in her nature. Besides, she would never give them the satisfaction of capturing her.

Killer Quick looked down at her and folded her arms. "We knew you'd come out of your cubbyhole eventually."

The young woman glared up at the Elite, her eyes still emanating an unsettling yellow glow.

"How long has it been since your friends died? Two years, or is it three? That's a long time to be alone, Brightstar. Or was that your mother's alias? You look so much like her, as did your sister. What do they call you? Do you even have an alias?"

"Morningstar!" the young woman cried out before her eyes grew brighter as her skin once more began to glow. "And you will find out why."

Killer Quick took a few steps back before shielding her face as Morningstar lit up like a flare. A moment later she decided it best to leave shortly before the young hero exploded with blazing energy, ripping not just the building she was inside to pieces, but several around it, in a hot fiery inferno that illuminated the area like a small sun.

Both Elites looked on from afar wondering if she had actually killed herself in a futile attempt to kill them. If she had, then it hadn't worked, though both suspected that it was just a ruse as a means to escape. Kasab wasn't going to let that happen. Despite the area being far too hot to enter, at least for Killer Quick, Kasab flew in, his Tamaranean physiology enabling him to survive.

In the middle of the destruction laid in a crater was Morningstar. Her skin had become ashen and colourless, her cells wholly drained of their superhuman energy. She knew she had overdone it, but all the anger and all the fury had boiled over. She had broken, and now she was depleted.

It had all been for nothing, though. Killer Quick had fled, and she didn't know if a Hyperburst was enough to take out a Tamaranean.

She soon got that answer as he came flying in, a look of triumph on his face. This was it. She was all out of energy and all out of luck.

"You have a date with Mindmasher," Kasab said as he grabbed her arm painfully and yanked her up to her feet. "You'll make a fine Elite."

"I'll never join you," she spat.

There was a gust of wind, and Killer Quick seemed to appear from nowhere. She wiped her brow.

"Hot?" Kasab asked her with a smirk.

"Damned hot," she said, sweat already forming on her brow. "Crazy to think such a small girl could cause so much destruction. She might be more powerful than her mother."

"She's a quick burn," Kasab said. "Gone and used it all up."

"Maybe." Killer Quick shrugged. "Let's just get her out of here."

Morningstar tried to pull her arm free. "I'm not going anywhere with you."

"You can't get away now," Kasab mocked. "I'm far stronger than you, Human."

Killer Quick folded her arms, unimpressed by the jab which while not directed at her, inadvertently included her.. "Excuse me?"

He glanced at her. "No offence."

"Oh, I'm taking offence Tamaranean, and I'm sure some of the others would as well."

"Well, I don't see you or the others as Human," he said as he clumsily tried to defend himself.

"Do you want a shovel?" Killer Quick asked him.

He looked at her in confusion. "Why would I want a shovel?"

"So you can keep digging that hole. Just be careful you don't get stuck."

"Enough!" he barked. "I'll meet you back at regional command," Kasab said as he gripped Morningstar tightly around the waist and began to levitate off of the ground.

She tried to struggle, but it was useless. Kasab was far stronger than her, and she had no hope of escaping his grasp. Not without her powers at least and she had unfortunately burned them out. At least for the time being.

"I'll race you," Killer Quick said as she sped off in a blur of white only to run face-first into a green barrier that appeared as if from nowhere. The Elite fell to the floor, knocked out cold.

Kasab began to rise higher, his grip tightening on Morningstar. "The Lantern," he muttered under his breath as he looked around for any sign of him. "Where is he?"

"Let her go!"

Kasab spun around, making Morningstar feel dizzy. Behind them dressed in his green and black uniform with white gloves and boots was a Green Lantern and relief washed over the young hero. She didn't know him personally, but she knew of them. The protectors of the galaxy, or at least that's what it said in the brochure. Not that there was one.

Kasab tightened his grip even more on Morningstar, literally squeezing the breath out of her, which made her panic. She began to thrash about in an attempt to break free, but it was still useless. He was far too strong. If he didn't ease his grip, or better yet, let her go, then she was going to suffocate.

Kasab went with the latter as he tossed her aside like unwanted trash and raced towards the Lantern, his arm reared back. Morningstar hit the ground with a pained yelp. If it hadn't been for the fact that she had churned the area up earlier with her Hyperburst, she probably would have broken something, but the powdered mulched, scorched ground had a lot more give than concrete.

She watched as the Green Lantern raised a shield, blocking the Tamaranean's hefty blows before responding with an attack of his own. Instead of dishing out expected attacks such as hammer constructs, chains, swords or anything else that she had seen as a child watching footage of the previous Lanterns, this one constructed strange amorphous shapes that knocked the Tamaranean around for a bit, before the Elite managed to dodge around the attack and almost got in a strike directly to the Lantern's face before he erected a second shield. Without missing a beat, the Lantern formed a massive construct and used it to swat Kasab out of the sky.

By now, Enforcers were moving into the area and had begun to open fire. The Lantern entirely covered himself with a shield before he swooped down towards Morningstar. Opening up a gap in his shield, he scooped her up in his arms and flew her off into the night.

Morningstar looked at his masked face. "You're a Green Lantern," she said.

He smiled. "Ja, I am," he said with a heavy accent. Scandanavian?

"Have you come to help us?" she asked.

"I am a part of the Justice League."

She laughed sorrowfully at him. "There's no Justice League any more."

"We aren't what we used to be, but remnants still exist all across the world," he told her. "Or at least we hope they do."

"You hope?" she asked incredulously.

"All of our old frequencies are now useless, so we lost contact." He slowed down. "Are there others nearby?"

"Others?"

"Do you have friends?"

Morningstar closed her eyes and shook her head.

"Was that a no?" he asked.

She nodded.

"I see," he said. "So you are alone?"

She nodded again.

"Please try and talk with me," the Green Lantern said.

"I am alone," she answered.

"What is your name?" he asked.

"Morningstar," she answered.

"I am Karl Feldt."

"In that case, I am Chao-Xing."

"It is nice to meet you, Chao-Xing. I plan on taking you to the others once I have checked that you are okay."

"I need to rest and recharge," she told him. "There is a hideout to the south that I do not think has been discovered yet. Can you take me there?"

"Give me the direction, and I shall go," he said.

"Thank you."

It took some time to get there, mainly due to Morningstar's poor directions as she not only didn't quite remember the way but also because she had never been there from the air before. The hideout was just that, a hideout one that had once belonged to her mother. It was a few rooms underground and had been used primarily as a safe house during the war that had ended with Vandal Savage declaring himself the Emperor of Earth.

Morningstar operated the door control, which opened with a rattle. The two then headed inside and made their way down a set of steps into the main room, which also acted as a basic command centre. Basic in the terms that it only had an old communications panel and an archaic security station.

"Make yourself comfortable," Morningstar said as she headed for the room that held the beds. "I'm going to sleep."

A frown crossed his face. "You're comfortable sleeping with a stranger here?"

"You're a Green Lantern and Justice League, right?"

"That is correct."

"Then I'm fine with it. Just sit by the security panel and wake me if anyone comes near."

"You that tired?"

"When I burn myself out, yeah. I might faint if I'm not careful, so I should find my bed, so my face doesn't painfully find the floor."

He nodded as she pulled the door open and stepped into the bedroom. Inside there were a handful of beds, all along the walls, making the room reasonably cramped. With a yawn, she climbed into one, and almost immediately fell asleep.

In the main room, Karl sat down in an old creaky chair and sighed. His trip to Oa had not been very productive. It was the fourth time he had been in the last decade, and the answer was the same, only this time there had been a finality to it. Oa was not going to help in this situation because according to them, this was an internal affair.

He glanced at the door Morningstar had gone through. Perhaps it wasn't a complete waste. He had detected her energy discharge as he had entered orbit and had gone to investigate. She was clearly very powerful and potentially dangerous.

She had been lucky. The area had been abandoned, meaning there had been no casualties. Even so, if she lost control with that kind of power anywhere remotely populated, then people were sure to die.

Still, if they ever wanted to defeat Vandal Savage, then they needed allies, and she was a strong candidate given she was willing. She seemed like she would jump at the chance to join them, but he didn't know for sure until he asked.

For now, though, he had to report in and tell the others he was back on Earth.


	2. Ep01-Ch02

**A Savage Future Part 01**

**Chapter 2**

The Enforcer stood there by the open doorway of the old excavated facility with his rifle in hand. He was standing guard making sure that no one that wasn't meant to enter entered and he intended on making sure no one did. He knew all too well of the consequences of failure, and so he kept alert and aware. Thanks to his helmet, even those that were invisible wouldn't be able to get past, given that they got close enough to be able to see through the cloaking field.

Unfortunately for him, Batman got passed him easily, by crawling down the front of the building and in through the open ten-foot doorway. Inside, the black-suited, currently invisible bat-themed freedom fighter stuck to the underside of the tall twelve-foot ceiling, its height being a definitive benefit as the Enforcers could only see through his cloaking field at around that distance. Being that the distance was so short, by the time they saw he was there, it was already too late.

Batman slowed to a stop as an Enforcer turned around a corner and came into view further up the corridor coming his way. It was time to test whether their helmets had undergone any upgrades. If they hadn't, given that the Enforcer didn't look up when directly underneath, Batman knew he should remain hidden. Thankfully, the Enforcer kept on walking out of the building.

Continuing around the corner up ahead, Batman dropped down from the ceiling and entered a nearby vacant room. With the door closed, he turned off his invisibility and slowly began to vent the retained heat, cooling himself off.

It was clear to Batman that no one had set foot in this room for a very long time. Likely since it had been abandoned all those years ago.

The old facility had always been underground, but the entrances had been sealed up perhaps a century or more ago, and the place had remained in limbo until something within its walls had caught Vandal Savage's undue attention.

Checking through the drawers, Batman found them empty apart from a few scraps of paper and a small odd-looking device with a circular hole and a blade on it that appeared to be used for sharpening something, perhaps to sharpen a weapon of some kind?

Closing the drawers, he reached his left hand to his ear. "Batman to Batwoman, I'm in. How about you?"

"_I'm in as well. How's the south-side looking?"_

"A few Enforcers, but fairly quiet. How about the north?"

"_Quiet as well. No sign of any Elites yet."_

"Keep in touch," he said. "Batman to Superman, how are things on your end?"

Superman answered immediately, his voice gravelled with age. _"No one is entering or exiting the site. Looks pretty quiet."_

"That's good. With luck, we should be able to find what Vandal is after and then hopefully get out with it."

"_Given it's something we can transport," _Batwoman pointed out.

"_Could be data," _Superman added.

"Which we can download," Batman pointed out. "And even if we can't, we can destroy data easily."

Batman heard Superman sigh. _"Looks like things might not be so easy after-all. I can see what looks like Vandal's limo flying under escort."_

Batman clenched his jaw. "Which means Elites are probably with him."

Superman agreed with that assertion. _"And most likely Steelcrusher. Both of you need to find out what they're after and get out. You have around ten minutes from their distance and current speed."_

Batman wasn't happy. "Ten minutes isn't a lot of time, but we'll see what we can find."

"_Then let's get this over with,"_ Batwoman said. _"I don't want to fight a whole horde of Elites _and_ Enforcers. That's a little too much."_

"Agreed," Batman concurred before addressing the team coordinator and tech specialist. "Max, has your research revealed anything about this place?"

Max, their AI answered. _"Unfortunately, no,"_ she said apologetically. _"__We're running into the same problem we keep running into. Because Vandal Savage erased historical databases and substituted his own, it's difficult to find anything of value. Or even know what is real."_

Batwoman added. _"Even if Savage hadn't wiped the databases, this place was probably a government secret meaning it would be hard to find anything anyway."_

"But not impossible," Batman said.

Max pointed out the obvious. _"He discovered this place exists, which means he didn't destroy everything. He has access to historical documents, files, something that told him __about t__his place. It most likely also told him what existed here. It must be important for him to go to all of this effort."_

Superman quickly added. _"If we can regain access to Savage's network as we have in the past, then maybe we can __sift through it all, find something he hasn't yet__."_

"_No,"_ Max disagreed. _"I doubt that this information is connected to the network. I would have found something on it earlier before we were locked out. No, he has this data somewhere no one else can access it. Probably on an isolated system."_

"This isn't the time for speculation," Batman said. "We only have six or seven minutes, and we can't waste any more time discussing this. We have to find out what's here and we have to do it before they arrive."

"_Six minutes out, I'd say,"_ Superman said.

"_Let's hope time has destroyed anything useful," _Batwoman said. _'This place is pretty old. It might have decayed.'_

"We can't leave anything to chance," Batman said. "Any updates or problems don't hesitate to inform everyone."

Knowing that they had already wasted too much time, he reactivated his stealth field and left the room. Six minutes was not a whole lot of time. If they were lucky, Vandal wouldn't rush in, and if they were even more lucky, this would be a flying visit.

Batman checked several rooms as he made his way further into the excavated facility. None of them held anything of much interest. Most were empty as though they had long since been cleared out, or maybe they had never been occupied at all. He felt a bit like an archaeologist exploring an ancient ruin, though this place was only around one-hundred and fifty years old, not a thousand.

As another patrol moved into view and with no nearby doors, Batman jumped up and clung to the ceiling, waiting for them to pass before he continued, slowly inching forward towards the junction up ahead. Making a decision, he made a left.

Up ahead, a door opened, and two Enforcers, a male and a female stepped out. Batman paused as Aquaria, one of Vandal's Elite's followed them out. Aquaria was the definition of the phrase 'Looks can be deceiving', as while she was small, very petite and looked, for the most part, non-threatening. She was made entirely out of water. How water could be conscious, Batman didn't know, but she was extremely dangerous. He had fought her a few times and had barely escaped unscathed.

As they approached, Batman listened in to the conversation that was happening. By the sound of it, Aquaria was flirting with the female Enforcer, though flirting might have been too tame a word. The female Enforcer wasn't comfortable with it as her pace was quick, as though she were trying to escape.

As the group passed underneath, Aquaria stopped and slapped the woman's behind and watched them go. There she stood directly beneath him, oblivious to the fact that he was there mere feet above her head. With no idea as to how good her hearing was, Batman remained as still as possible. The last thing he wanted was to be discovered now, especially with Vandal Savage mere minutes, if not seconds away.

Mentally, he tried to will her to move on. He knew he couldn't, but he did it anyway, wanting nothing more to see her leave. Instead, she did something else that made him sweat. Aquaria's gaze shifted, and she looked straight up at him, seemingly right into his eyes as though she could see him as clear as day. For several moments he wondered if she was going to raise the alarm or fight him. Instead, she did something he never expected. She smiled and winked at him before she continued, moving out of sight as she headed right at the junction at the end of the corridor.

Batman released the breath he didn't know he had been holding and quickly decided to inform the others. "Batman to team," he began. "I think Aquaria saw me through my invisibility."

"_Think?" _came Batwoman's reply. _"She either did, or she didn't."_

"She looked at me and winked," he explained.

Superman sounded confused. _"Winked?"_ he repeated in the form of a question. _"__Could they be setting a trap?"_

"I don't know," Batman answered, uncertain.

"_Just be careful, both of you," _Superman told them. _"Vandal is touching down."_

* * *

The arrival of Vandal Savage was not good news, and Batwoman knew that, but there was little she could do except continue searching the place. First, though, she decided to listen in to the two Enforcers nearby who were being rather chatty. She doubted they knew much, but they could still reveal something of use, which they did, shortly after she had taken up her hiding spot behind some nearby crates.

Unlike Batman, whose suit was black, hers was white. She had heard that some had come to call them the Black Bat and the White Bat. Not that it mattered.

"So, what do you make of it?" One Enforcer asked.

"There's nothing _to_ make of it," the other said with a slight shrug. "There's like twelve of these weird pod things in there, that's it."

"So, you saw 'em?"

"The pods, yeah, but from what I heard from Deep Freeze when he was talking with Techinizer, was only six of 'em are actually still working and three of those ain't working properly."

"Do you know what's in 'em?"

The other Enforcer shook his head. "No, clue. Was told to get lost and go guard someplace else. What I do know is that Lord Savage is supposed to be arriving any minute now and that Aquaria and Overcharge are supposed to be here already."

"Wow, that makes _four_ Elites."

"Yeah. You think they're expecting trouble?"

"With Deep Freeze, Techinizer, Overcharge and Aquaria here? Plus whoever Lord Savage brings with him? Maybe."

The other Enforcer nodded. "Yeah. Speaking of Aquaria, am I the only one that thinks she's creepy?"

"You mean her water powers? I kinda think it's hot."

"She's creepy. I swear I thought I could see through her head this one time. Like there was this bright light behind her, and I could see it through her head. It was freaky."

The first Enforcer shrugged. "She's supposed to be made entirely out of water."

"Yeah, I heard. But how does that even work?"

"I have no idea."

"Like where's the brain and stuff?"

"Yeah, when you put it that way, it is a bit strange."

The other Enforcer adjusted the strap on his rifle. "We should probably get back on patrol."

"You mean you," the first said. "I'm right where I'm supposed to be."

"Yeah, sure. See you later."

"Later."

Batwoman remained still as the Enforcer walked past her before she climbed up the wall and followed him on the ceiling for a short while until she came across Savage and his entourage which included Steelcrusher and the aforementioned Techinizer and Deep Freeze who must have gone to meet him as well as six other Enforcers. She remained still against the ceiling as they passed underneath, she then followed them from afar into a large room full of old computers and twelve large pods just as the Enforcer in the corridor had described.

Crawling slowly across the ceiling, Batwoman found a dark, secluded corner which was rather well hidden by a large workstation. Silently, she dropped down from the ceiling and hid behind it, deactivating her invisibility not only to start venting some built-up heat but also to conserve some energy.

From her vantage point, she could see Vandal Savage stood in front of the pods, his gaze intense. He turned to Techinizer. "Can the pods be moved?"

Techinizer nodded. "Yes, we've already begun preparations. The pods all have reserve batteries, so if we move them quickly, they shouldn't be affected.

Deep Freeze spoke next. "Unfortunately, we believe that only three of the pods are viable."

Savage's brow creased into an unpleasant frown. "I thought six had survived?"

Techinizer answered. "Six still have power, but from further study, we found that three out of those six appear to have malfunctioned."

"As long as one of those pods holds at least one of who I seek, then I will be willing to accept the loss of the others."

Deep Freeze nervously cleared his throat. "Who is it you seek, Lord Savage?"

Vandal Savage glared at him. "Prepare to move the pods," he commanded evading the question. "All twelve of them. Understood?"

Techinizer nodded. "Of course, Lord Savage."

"I have other things I need to attend to elsewhere," Savage said. "By the time I return to my citadel in Metropolis, I expect it to be done."

Both Deep Freeze and Techinizer bowed their heads. "Yes, Lord Savage," they said in unison.

Vandal Savage promptly left the room, followed by Steelcrusher and the six Enforcers, easing the tension Batwoman felt. Being so close to the leader was enough to make her want to jump out and break his neck. Unfortunately, that would do no good. He was immortal, and a broken neck hadn't stopped him before.

She decided to report her discovery. "Batwoman here," she whispered, "found what they're here for. Some kind of stasis pods I think. Anyone else got anything to report?"

Batman answered first. _"I'm in a server room. There are some technicians here working on them."_

Max added her voice. _"Batman, try and get the data from those servers somehow. Batwoman, try and see if you can figure out who or what is in those stasis pods."_

Superman spoke next. _"Sounds like a solid plan. Anything for me to do?"_

"_Keep your eyes open," _Batman told him.

"_Vandal is leaving,"_ Superman told them. _"With Steelcrusher."_

"That's good news," Batwoman said. "I'll see what I can find out."

With the call ended, Batwoman peeked over again. They were still preparing the pods for transport and given at the current speed they were going it would be around ten or fifteen minutes until they were ready.

"What are you up to?" a voice seemed to whisper right into Batwoman's ear.

Startled, her head spun around to see a floating blue head and a freakishly long neck that seemed to form from a puddle on the floor. It was Aquaria, and her face held an almost fiendish smirk. Batwoman was at a complete loss for words, and while her first instinct was to go on the offensive, Aquaria herself didn't seem hostile. Batwoman didn't know what game she was playing, but she didn't like it.

Aquaria continued, keeping her voice a whisper. "Once we're done here, Lord Savage plans on blowing this place up, so don't hang around."

Batwoman glanced over the workstation towards Deep Freeze and Techinizer who here busy working before she focused back on Aquaria. "What are you up to?"

"What do you mean?" Aquaria asked with a wide grin.

"What's your game?"

"I just want to know what you're doing here?" Aquaria said as more of her body began to form out of the puddle. "And how you found out about this excavation?"

"Who or what is in the pods?" Batwoman asked, hoping the water-based Elite was willing to divulge some information.

To her surprise, the Elite did, though it was somewhat lacking. "Some people from the past, apparently. Savage hasn't told us anything, but he found something in some old databases."

"They must be important if he's going to this much trouble," Batwoman pointed out.

"You'd think," Aquaria answered.

Batwoman glanced one more time towards the two Elites working on the pods. "So are we gonna fight each other now?" she asked, focusing back on Aquaria.

Aquaria gave her a quizzical look. "Fight? I've never fought you in the past. Why would I start now?"

That confused Batwoman. "We've fought plenty of times," she pointed out, keeping her voice a whisper.

Aquaria laughed out loud. Loud enough to be heard.

"Who's there?" Deep Freeze's voice echoed across the large room.

Before Batwoman could react, two powerful jets of water struck her in the chest, lifting her off the ground at an alarming speed. She only stopped when her back hit the ceiling, and she found herself falling towards the floor. The only thing that prevented her from hitting the ground was her suit's anti-gravity tech, and she hovered a few feet above with both Deep Freeze and Techinizer gawking at her in surprise.

"Look who I found," Aquaria declared loud and proud.

Batwoman gritted her teeth "I've been compromised," she told the others.

Reaching forward with his fingers splayed, Deep Freeze began shooting streams of ice towards her. Batwoman darted to the side only to be struck by a blast of water, sending her flying into the far wall.

"_Get out of there,"_ Max's said.

Batwoman decided that it was probably the best course of action, especially when the alarms began to blare.


	3. Ep01-Ch03

**A Savage Future Part 01**

**Chapter 3**

"Dammit, Angela," Batman cursed under his breath as the klaxon began to wail. The group of four technicians looked at each other nervously before glancing around the room. It wouldn't do them much good, not when his cloaking field rendered him invisible.

Batman was in the far corner, his stealth field activated. He was hidden for now but knew that could change at any moment, which unfortunately it did.

The door to the room burst open, and a group Enforcers swarmed into the room. Batman remained as still as possible knowing that their helmet-given heightened senses could easily detect any sound he made if he moved.

One of the technicians addressed the Enforcers. "What's going on?"

"Intruders," an Enforcer replied before pointing at two of his comrades. "Check every corner. One of them might be in here to access the old hardware."

The Enforcers began to move deeper into the room. All of them were clutching their energy rifles, taking long sweeping looks around the room. Knowing that he was going to get spotted at any moment, Batman did the only thing he could do and leapt upwards, gripping himself against the ceiling. In any other circumstance, this motion would have been too quiet to hear, but due to the technologically enhanced hearing of the Enforcers, the closest one to him heard it. In one swift motion, he unhooked something from his belt and tossed it. The moment it hit the floor directly beneath Batman, it went off with a blast of static. It was a disruptor grenade designed for one sole purpose. Batman's stealth field failed, and he found himself fully visible to everyone in the room.

"There he is!" the Enforcer yelled necessarily as bolts of energy fire began lancing towards Batman, who flew forwards ploughing through several Enforcers as he flew out through the door.

"Careful!" one of the technicians cried out from behind. "Don't use your disruptor grenades or rifles in here, this old equipment is sensitive, you could end up wiping the drives by mistake."

Batman hoped it was already too late and the data _was_ gone. It would stop Vandal from getting his hands on it, but unfortunately, that would have its repercussions. Whenever things didn't go the way Vandal wanted them to, or they interfered, he had made it a habit of making sure civilians suffered for it. It was the main reason they never openly opposed him and picked their fights with extreme care. Too many innocents had been hurt or killed in retaliation and no doubt there would be retribution for Batwoman's blunder of being discovered.

As Batman flew around a corner, he ran face-first into Overcharge, one of Vandal's more powerful Elites. Quickly, Batman tried to get around him but Overcharged grabbed him by the ankles and swung him around, flinging him through a wall.

Overcharge's abilities came from the harness he wore, which covered most of his chest. It had been dubbed the 'Superman' suit due to some of the powers it gave him, such as super strength, speed and the power of flight. He wasn't quite as strong Superman, but he was powerful enough to be able to throw Batman around like a small child and had a punch that could stop almost anything, save for Superman. Overcharge also had a brother known as Hardlight, and like him, he wore a harness, though his abilities were more akin to Green Lantern's as he was able to project constructs, though unlike Lantern, Hardlight's constructs were holographic and not nearly as powerful. Even so, he was dangerous, especially when he teamed up with his brother. Luckily for Batman, he only had to deal with Overcharge, at least for now.

Batman dusted himself off as he climbed back onto his feet as Overcharge drifted through the hole in the wall.

"Look what the bat dragged in," Overcharge said as he gently landed.

Batman didn't answer as he stood ready to fight. Overcharge wasted no time and charged forwards in an attempt to flatten him. Batman quickly slipped around his opponent and kicked him in the back of the knees, causing him to stumble and fall. It didn't do Batman much good, though, as Enforcers began swarming into the room and a light show of laser fire lit up the room.

"Back off!" Overcharge raged as he got back to his feet and spun around. "He's _mine_."

The laser fire stopped almost immediately as quickly as it had started, and the Enforcers all took a nervous step back. It was never wise to disobey an Elite, even if their request did sound illogical. Batman was all the more glad for it. Fighting Overcharge was far easier than fighting him _and_ a room full of Enforcers.

The super-powered Elite rushed forward with his left arm drawn back. He thrust it forwards only to meet air as Batman glided to the side, only this time Overcharge was ready for the anticipated kick to the back of the knees only it didn't come, instead Batman used this confusion to launch an attack of his own which came in the form of a flying kick aimed at his upper back which was currently wide open. Overcharge stumbled forward and careened through a wall head-first.

Overcharge was sloppy, always had been. He never used his enhanced speed to its full effectiveness and often relied solely on his strength. If he did manage to get in a good punch, however, it could be quite devastating. Batman could remember an instance when Overcharge had nearly ended a fight with only a single blow. If it hadn't been for Superman intervening, Batman would have been down for the count. As long as he evaded his fists, Batman knew he had a chance, and besides his suit had undergone an upgrade since then to better diffuse a direct strike. Not that one of Overcharge's power punches could ever be sufficiently diffused.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the facility, Batwoman had also been intercepted by an Elite. It was Overcharge's twin brother, Hardlight and he had grabbed her with a blue shimmering holographic claw and slammed her down hard against the floor before she'd had time to react.

Rolling clear of his next strike, Batwoman jumped to her feet and pressed her fingers against one of the hemispheres around her waist. As she pulled her hand away, a holographic Batarang formed in her hand and she threw it with precision. Hardlight formed a shield in his hand and knocked it to the side. It was the distraction Batwoman needed as she slid around him and much as Batman had done to Overcharge, she planted both of her feet against his back and shoved him forward through a wall.

As she flew forwards to follow him through, a giant blue fist came hurtling out and sent her through not only one wall but two right into the room where Overcharge was fighting Batman. He was afforded only a glance before he dodged a strike from Overcharge and used his momentum to fling him into the wall, causing an ugly crack.

Hardlight shouted at the Enforcers stood by the door. "What are you doing? Shoot them!"

Overcharge growled as he got back on his feet. "We can take them," he said. "No need for them to get involved."

Hardlight swung a giant holographic hammer at Batwoman, who dodged with a backflip before he shot his brother a glare. "Not this again."

Overcharge shot a glare of his own. "Not what again?" he demanded to know.

"Your ego," Hardlight said, as he used a holographic shield to absorb Batwoman's attacks.

"I don't have an ego," Overcharge rebuked.

Batman used the distraction to his advantage and got in a good few quick blows to his opponent's lower back and one to the face that sent him crashing down to the ground only to end up sideswiped by one of Hardlight's constructs, sending Batman into the wall.

Batwoman threw another holographic Batarang, but Hardlight scooted backwards, letting it fly past harmlessly. Then without pause, he constructed a giant hammer and slammed it into the ceiling, causing debris to fall on top of her, burying her and also several Enforcers who didn't get out of the way in time.

With Batwoman seemingly dealt with, Hardlight focused on Batman, slamming him against the wall with a fist construct, which caused more of the building to collapse around them. Intent on finishing the fight, Hardlight formed two giant hands and smiled. He brought them together, mimicking the motion with his own hands, but they clapped together without hitting their target as Batman shot up into the air, dodged around the giant hands and punched him square in the face, only to be blasted in the side by a stream of ice, projected from Deep Freeze's hands.

Batwoman climbed out of the debris to see that two more Elites had joined the fight. Deep Freeze and Aquaria, the latter shooting her a wide grin before hitting her in the chest with a jet of water, sending her flying backwards and pinning her to the wall.

"This is good exercise," Aquaria said as she approached, maintaining the stream, as more water fed her from nearby ruptured pipes. "Now, how can you get out of this and more importantly, how do you suppose you're gonna defeat water?"

No sooner had the Elite finished her sentence did she find her answer. Twin beams of red shot in through the hole in the roof, striking Aquaria in the chest. With a shrill cry of pain and a cloud of steam, she retreated, turning into a puddle on the floor and sliding away. Superman slowly descended through the hole with pure white hair wearing a black capeless suit with a more familiar red and yellow "S" emblazoned on his chest and took a long look around before focusing on Hardlight, giving Batman the chance to turn his attention to Deep Freeze. Unfortunately for Superman, Overcharge re-entered the fight, and he teamed up with his brother to take on the Man of Steel. The two against one was short-lived as Batwoman came flying in with a two-feet strike against Overcharge's back, sending him stumbling.

Batwoman glanced at Superman. "This would be easier if Lantern was here."

Superman answered without taking his eyes off of Hardlight. "He should be back soon with news from Oa."

"They won't send help," Batwoman said. "They haven't before. This is an 'internal matter', remember?"

"_Actually,"_ Max began, speaking into their ears, _"Lantern is back, but he ran into some trouble in China."_

"China?" Superman repeated out loud, confused, shortly before blocking an attack.

"Get him here," Batman said as the remaining Enforcers decided it was time to act. A stream of laser fire began flying around the room, striking the three heroes, giving the Elites an opening. It was short-lived as the rest of the ceiling started to collapse, causing the Enforcers to dart out of the room.

"_He's already on his way. He thought he would surprise you."_

"Just great," Batwoman muttered as he dodged the falling debris only to be struck in the stomach by Overcharge, who sent her hurtling into the wall.

"Change opponents?" Superman suggested as he darted from Hardlight to Overcharge.

"That would be nice," Batwoman heaved as she shot towards Hardlight, only for him to swat her aside with one of his constructs.

Batman meanwhile was having some trouble of his own. Deep Freeze with the help of Aquaria who had rejoined the fight managed to spray his legs with water, giving the ice-themed villain the chance to freeze his legs together causing him to fall flat on his face. Aquaria covered the rest of him in water, giving Deep Freeze the catalyst for his freezing powers, only for his stream of ice to be blocked by a green barrier.

"Not today," Green Lantern said as he descended into the fight.

In an instant, Hardlight was on him, flying straight towards him and the two clashed, green and blue constructs smashing into each other. As it turned out, unsurprisingly, Green Lantern was the more powerful of the two. Hardlight's holographic constructs were broken, bashed and demolished by the superior energy of the Lantern ring.

Meanwhile, between attacks from Overcharge, Superman used his heat-vision to speed up the thawing of Batman's legs while Batwoman clobbered Deep Freeze in the jaw, knocking him out cold. As for Aquaria, she was nowhere to be seen, leaving Hardlight and Overcharge.

With a good punch from Superman, Overcharge left the building, and with Batwoman, Batman and Green Lantern now focused on Hardlight he was quickly defeated. Knowing that reinforcements could very well be on the way, the four Leaguers took to the air, leaving the facility far behind.

As soon as his feet touched the ground a good fifty miles away, Superman staggered and leant up against a nearby tree. He felt short of breath, which was all too familiar these days.

Batwoman landed next to him and rested a hand on his back. "You okay?"

"Yes," he panted. "Just need to catch my breath."

Batman stretched. "Everybody take five."

Superman nodded. "That was a disaster," he breathed.

Batman turned his gaze onto Batwoman, a deep glare on his face. "What the hell happened in there?"

"Aquaria," Batwoman answered with a shrug.

"She spotted you and attacked?" Green Lantern asked.

"No, actually we talked."

Batman folded his arms. "About?"

"I don't remember. Something about Vandal and what he was looking for in those pods. I said something about us fighting, and she laughed, Deep Freeze heard it, and she attacked."

"You sure?" Batman asked.

Superman interrupted the argument that he knew was about to erupt. "We should talk about this back at base. Not out here."

Batman nodded. "Agreed. Everyone knows the drill. We split up, and all take different routes back."

Green Lantern began to hover. "I need to head back to China. I left someone there I think we should bring into the fold."

Batman folded his arms. "We can't just bring anyone into the cave."

"She has powers," Lantern said. "And she's all alone. Everyone else is dead. I think she was part of a League cell we lost contact with."

Batwoman quirked an eyebrow under her mask. "Maybe we should head there instead."

"Could be a trap," Batman warned. "All of us going would be a risk."

Superman agreed with a nod. "Perhaps Lantern takes someone with him while the other two head back to base?"

Batwoman volunteered. "I'll go."

Superman shook his head. "No, I'll go."

Batman disagreed. "You need to rest. You might still be one of the strongest people on Earth, but you burn through your powers too quick."

"You're right," Superman mused. "Okay. I'll head back to base with Batman while Lantern and Batwoman go to China."

"Sounds good," Batwoman agreed.

Shortly after, the two groups separated, one heading back to Gotham, the other to China.


	4. Ep01-Ch04

**A Savage Future Part 01**

**Chapter 4**

The warm wind kicked off the dust from the ground, causing Zahra Zatara's eyes to prickle and water. The old Geotowers that had turned the once dry and arid area green were now nothing but destroyed husks, a stark reminder of Vandal Savage's oppression. The desert was now starting to encroach once again, which caused a shortage of food. As such, the rationing that was already in effect had only harshened, meaning a lot of people went hungry.

Zahra felt guilty for stealing rations, but it was necessary on occasion. Hunting was not something they always had the opportunity to do, especially when setting up in a new city. Thankfully, there was an old hideout here, one they had access to.

With the rations in a bag that rested over her shoulder, she walked swiftly, keeping her head down. She had to blend in, become like everyone else, which meant she had to not only dress like a civilian but act like one as to not draw unwanted attention.

Moving from one city to another was always tricky. They didn't always have access to a hideout, more often than not resorting to living in caves or trusting civilians to hide them. The latter had always ended in disaster, and Zahra knew that it was her fault. The problem was that she couldn't leave things alone. She couldn't sit idly by and watch people suffer. She always had to try and help. It was in her nature and one she couldn't ignore.

Minding her own business, Zahra turned down a narrow street as she made her way towards the rendezvous point only to see two Enforcers harassing a young family.

Her first thought was to turn around, go back the way she came, but she couldn't even though she could almost hear Klip, her teammate's voice in her head, telling her that she couldn't get involved, that they couldn't afford to bring attention to themselves.

As one of the Enforcers kicked one of the children into the dirt, her mind was made up. She was supposed to be a hero, not a coward. She would help these people. In her mind, there was no other choice, none that would allow her to keep her conscience intact.

With determination, she began to stride towards them with her hands clenched into fists by her side. She wasn't sure how this encounter would go. She never did. She wasn't exactly versed in the arcane. She'd been forced to figure things out all by herself and had done a pretty good job of it all things considered. Or at the very least she thought so.

One of the Enforcers looked over at her and raised his energy rifle, pointing it right at her. "Turn around," he commanded. "This has nothing to do with you."

Without pausing, or giving what she was about to do any further thought, she raised her right hand and waved it to the side. "Mrasid," she shouted.

To the Enforcer's surprise, his rifle was torn from his grip and flew across the narrow street, clattering to the ground. The other Enforcer reacted immediately. He pointed his gun and opened fire with bolts of energy.

"Tcelfed," she said as she dove to the side.

The laser bolts scattered as though they had hit a prism, blowing small chunks out of the surrounding buildings.

"Hsup," she said, hands outstretched.

The armed Enforcer stumbled before falling flat on his back. The other ran for his rifle which lay on the street. He rolled, snatching it up in his grip, only he didn't get the chance to fire.

"Eltnamsid!" she yelled, all of her focus on his weapon. Fatigue hit her from the strain of using her magic so forcefully. She ignored it as she focused on the rifle, watching as it broke apart in his grip.

By now, the family they had been harassing was fleeing the scene. She had to make sure they were well away before she broke off the attack, but she was already starting to feel tired. Some spells wore her down more than others, and dismantling the laser rifle had knocked the proverbial wind out of her sails. Knowing she had to take them out quickly, she began to slowly back away trying to think of a spell which would enable that outcome. Thankfully, they gave her the opportunity as they ran towards her, side by side.

"Here goes," she muttered as she held her hands out wide. "Edilloc sdaeh!" she shouted out.

The two Enforcers stumbled, and their helmets smashed together, as both crashed down in a heap. They were unconscious, at least for now, which meant she had to get out of there and quickly before either they woke up or reinforcements arrived. Unfortunately, the latter happened as a group of five Enforcers rushed around the corner their rifles raised ready to shoot.

"Tcelfed!" Zahra shouted out as they opened fire only for their energy bolts to fly wide. She felt a wave of nausea hit her, and she stumbled but kept her concentration up. All it would take was one hit, and she would be out of the fight.

Zahra was so focused on what was going on in front, that she didn't notice the man behind. Not until he had wrapped his arms around her waist. She let out a shriek as she was pulled down into the ground, her vision going completely dark. With the man still holding onto her, she felt herself move forwards through the dirt which felt not unlike pins and needles rushing across her whole body, and it took a lot of effort to stop herself from having a panic attack as she found, as expected, that she couldn't breathe. The sensation eased as they slowed before finally light filled her vision as they both raised out of the ground, and she took in a deep breath.

The arms let her go, and she swiftly swivelled around to face her teammate, Boundless. "Thanks for the save, but you could have at least warned me so that I knew to hold my breath."

Klip Kontre, once known as the young budding hero Boundless frowned at her. He wasn't in costume, same as her, though that wasn't unusual these days. It helped them blend in. "Why are you causing trouble?" he demanded.

"They were harassing a family."

"We only just got here, Zahra," he said in frustration. "We have to lay low and try and contact the other cells. If we lose this hideout, then we're done."

"You know what happened last time we tried o contact the others," she retorted. "They found us and nearly wiped us all out."

"And the last time you played hero, the Elites were on us like ants to sugar."

"So I should stand back and let them hurt people for the fun of it?" Zahra argued in frustration.

Klip glanced back at the city, which now lay in the distance. "We can't cause any more trouble for the next few weeks. With luck, they'll think we were passing through." He looked back at Zahra. "And you need to keep yourself in check."

"I couldn't let them hurt that family," Zahra said, folding her arms.

"And what if the Enforcers decide to retaliate? They might do more than just hurt some family. You humiliated them today."

"I did not humiliate them," she argued. "I only got the better of two."

"Yes and if I hadn't come along how long could you have stood up to five Enforcers intent on killing you?"

Zahra hesitated before answering. "Not long," she conceded. "But I can't just stand by and let them get away with the things they do."

"You have to."

"We're heroes," Zahra pointed out.

"You mean we _were_ heroes," Klip corrected. "Right now, we're fugitives, and we need to lay low. We're on our last hideout. Once they discover this one, that's it we're done. We don't know where any more are."

"I'm fed up of laying low."

"I know," he accepted, his expression turning sombre. "We should probably head back and get some rest."

Zahra nodded slowly. "Yeah, rest sounds good about now."

"I'll take you," he said, taking a step towards her.

She stepped back. "I have legs. I can walk."

"I know you don't like my method of travel, but it is faster."

"It's only a two-hour walk from here."

"And ten minutes by phasing."

"I don't think I can hold my breath for that long."

"Well, it would take eight without all the stops I have to take."

Zahra sighed in reserved acceptance. "Try and make it at least ten stops."

"You can't hold your breath for two minutes and make it five?" he asked with a disarming smile.

She wasn't impressed. "Listen, when we're phasing-or whatever you call it-through the ground it takes a lot of effort just to stop myself from freaking out."

"I'd have thought you'd be used to it by now," Klip commented.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to it," she mused, taking a step towards him. "Let's just get this over with. Fighting those Enforcers has worn me out."

Klip got behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Are you ready?" he asked.

Zahra took in a deep breath and nodded, closing her eyes as he descended into the Earth. She felt the familiar sensation of pins and needles across her body as they accelerated forwards. She tried to focus solely on her breath. That was difficult when she realised she was starting to run out.

Just as she was beginning to panic, they slowed to a stop and raised out of the ground. Zahra broke free of his grip, taking in lungfuls of breath before shooting a fierce glare at him.

"What?" he asked, as though he didn't know what was wrong.

Zahra was angry. "I told you to come up every minute, not every two."

"We're a little over half-way," he told her.

"You mean, I was holding my breath for five minutes?"

"About two-and-a-half."

"You said it would take ten minutes."

"I went faster than usual."

She stalked off, not happy with him. "I'll find my own way back."

Klip got in step beside her. "I know how much you hate my phasing, so I tried to get it over with as quickly as possible."

"Yes, but part of it is the claustrophobia and the fact I can't breathe. I feel trapped."

"Well, that's because you are."

"Which is why I'm walking the rest of the way."

"It's still forty minutes from here."

"I could do with the fresh air."

"It will only take two minutes from here, my way. Even less if I push myself."

"Unless you suddenly figure out how to fly, I'm walking."

"Can't you fly?" he asked her.

Zahra glanced at him. "With a spell, yes, but I don't think I have the energy, and besides, it's not exactly flying. It's more hovering uncontrollably like a sock in the wind."

"You don't have the energy to cast a spell, but you can walk for forty minutes in the baking sun?"

She stopped and rested her hands on her hips. "Klip, I don't think you realise how much I hate it. I can almost _feel_ the ground moving through my body. I can't stand it."

"Less than two minutes," he repeated. "Then you can go straight to your bunk."

"Two minutes of hell."

"It's not that bad."

"Not for you, because you're the one in control. You know when your leg or arm's gone numb, and you get the static feeling running through it? It's like that but ten times worse, and it's constant."

"It's unpleasant for you, I get it, but it's two minutes versus forty."

Zahra looked up at the cloudless sky before focusing back on him. "Two minutes," she repeated.

"Or less."

She nodded. "Okay." She began to take in deep breaths, readying herself. She wished she knew a teleportation spell, that would be more useful than any other in her arsenal. She had tried her usual method, of saying teleport and a destination backwards but it hadn't worked which meant either she wasn't doing it right, or it was too advanced.

She had gotten into the city by walking. It was only an hour, and she had set off before sunrise. The plan was to stay in the city until nightfall, but that wasn't going to happen now. They were already out of the city and going back while the Enforcers were actively looking for them wasn't a good idea.

"Ready?" Klip asked.

"Can't you just move through the air instead?" she asked.

"Air isn't a dense enough medium for me to use," he explained.

"Have you tried?"

"That's how I know it's not dense enough."

Zahra let out a long drawn out sigh as she prepared herself for what was to come. "Let's do this."

She took in a deep breath as he wrapped his arms around her and phased down into the ground.

It was just as bad as it was before. Actually, that wasn't true it was worse. It seemed that the faster he went, the more uncomfortable it became. Zahri tried to focus on something else other than the sensation coursing through her body. The discomfort only made the trip feel longer, more like hours than the scarce few minutes, but finally, they emerged from the dirt straight into the main room of their hideout.

"We're here," Klip said unnecessarily.

He let her go, and she wandered to the old sagging couch and sat down on it with a light groan.

"Thank God that's over," she muttered.

"Wait, hold on," Klip asked, suddenly sounding a little frantic.

She looked over at him with a blank face, too tired to frown. "What?"

"Where are the rations you went to get?"

She reached for her shoulder to find that the bag was gone. She stood up and stared at the couch, before glancing at Klip. "I must have dropped it."

"We needed those rations, Zatara," he said, using her last name which was something he only did when particularly irked by her.

She ran her fingers through her long black hair, and her shoulders slumped. She was expecting another lecture about not getting involved with the people's plight, but instead, he just looked at her with disappointment, which was arguably worse.

"I get it," she muttered. "I screwed up. I always find a way to mess things up."

Klip's expression softened. "It won't be forever," he said. "We will defeat Savage eventually."

"Will we?" she asked back. "You say it won't last forever, but do you forget that Vandal Savage is literally immortal?"

"We know Superman and some of the others are still around from our last communication."

"You mean the communique that brought Enforcers and Elite's to our doorstep?" Zahra pointed out. "The reason why it's just the two of us?"

"It's not their fault," Klip said.

"I'm not blaming them," Zahra said quickly. "But Vandal is very observant, and our system was not sufficiently protected."

"We have to try _something_ because I don't know if we'll be here this time next year if things continue the way they are."

Zahra looked at Klip with a grim expression but said nothing. She felt tired and worn down, a familiar feeling these days. She used to smile a lot when she was younger, but her smile had long since left her features. There wasn't much joy left in the world and try as she might she couldn't change anything.

Neither of them could.


	5. Ep01-Ch05

**A Savage Future Part 01**

**Chapter 5**

Chao-Xing, aka Morningstar, awoke feeling groggy and with a slight headache. With a groan, she climbed out of bed and made her way to the small kitchen where she grabbed herself a glass of water from the tap and sat down at the old table.

This place had once been her mother's hideout before she had died. There were markers all around with her symbol, the Brightstar. Morningstar now held that symbol and had inherited her mother's powers. She wasn't her mother, though, and Chao-Xing doubted she would ever be able to live up to her mother's legacy as a superhero.

"Green Lantern?" she called out as she looked around. There was no sign of him, and she wondered if he was ever here to begin with? It wouldn't have been the first time she had dreamt about there being others like her, people willing and able to save her from the loneliness she felt.

Chao-Xing wiped her eyes, knowing she was acting stupid. This was her reality, and while she wished that she could find a place among the people, she couldn't, not without putting their lives in danger. Just like her mother, she needed to vent her excess energy every once in a while or else people would get hurt. She could only do that in a place that had specific shielding like her mother's specially designed pod which sat in the corner. It was where the hideout got its power, though as of late it had been giving her warnings that the batteries were nearing capacity. Thankfully, she still felt somewhat drained from last nights antics, though that brought into question if Green Lantern had been a dream, then who had brought her here?

She jumped in alarm as the proximity warning went off. She headed to the computer station and activated the monitor to see a familiar form, one that filled her with not only relief but also a deep sense of joy she hadn't felt in years. It was the Green Lantern. He was real, and he was coming back with what appeared to be someone dressed in white.

With excitement, Chao-Xing sprinted to the hidden entrance and opened it, running outside where she waved at the approaching friends and watched them as they landed several feet away.

"I was worried you were a dream," the young Chinese woman said as she rushed over and hugged him, before hugging the bat-themed woman.

"I'm Batwoman," the woman in pure white greeted with a light chuckle. "It's good to meet you."

Chao-Xing released her and took a step back, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I'm Chao-Xing, also known as Morningstar." She turned for the entrance. "Come on inside."

The two followed her back into the base, and she sealed the entrance, showing them the small kitchen.

"Cosy," Batwoman commented. "Really cosy. I like it."

"It's nice until you realise there's no food," Chao-Xing said as she sat down at the table. "This base hasn't been used much. There was a fear before everyone died that this place had been compromised, but it wasn't."

Batwoman glanced at Lantern. "If there's any doubt, then you probably shouldn't stay."

"There was never a raid or anything here," Chao-Xing told them. "My mother was convinced this place had remained hidden."

"Then why did the others think it had been?"

"Some Enforcers were seen in the area."

"How long ago was this?" Lantern asked.

"Three or four years ago."

Lantern seemed to think for a moment. "Perhaps we should all head back to our hideout?" he suggested.

Batwoman disagreed. "Batman won't like that, not yet at least." She looked at Chao-Xing. "Do you know how to hunt?"

"Of course I do," she answered. "It's been a necessity. I just haven't had the drive."

Batwoman checked the refrigerator. "You're right. There isn't any food. We'll have to hunt and forage for some before long." She closed it and addressed the Green Lantern. "I'll stay here over the next week or so, get to know the area."

Green Lantern agreed. "I'll stay for the next few hours then head back and report to the others."

"Sounds solid," Batwoman said with a firm nod. "Chao-Xing, would it be possible to add us both as administrators or at the very least give us access to the base?"

"Of course I can, but I can't remember how."

Green Lantern cracked his knuckles. "I might be able to help with that."

"Before we do," Batwoman began, looking at the logo on Morningstar's chest. "Can you tell me about your costume?"

"If you want to know, it was my mother's logo, Brightstar."

"Yes, I've heard of her."

"She is dead, the same as my older sister and everyone else."

"If you don't mind me asking? How old are you?"

"Eighteen," Chao-Xing answered.

"Did your sister have the same powers?"

Chao-Xing shook her head. "No, she had no powers."

"I'm sorry. It's always hard to lose loved ones. Steelcrusher killed my father in one of the final battles in Metropolis when Vandal Savage was taking the Watchtower. That was about a decade ago now. It's his citadel now. My father was Batman before my brother took the mantle, and before I became Batwoman."

"Do you think we will ever defeat him?"

"Vandal Savage? Maybe. We lost a lot of people, but then again so has Savage. When he took the Watchtower, he had twenty-four Elites with him, including the Daxamite twins who easily pounded Superman into submission." She shook her head. "Kal still beats himself up over it, but he's over two-hundred years old. He can't hold himself to the same standard as when he was in his prime. It's only thanks to the mutiny led by the Elites Mass Driver and the Daxamite twins that we're down to thirteen now. Maybe if we wait, they'll destroy themselves, and we can do clean-up duty on who's left."

"Can we afford to do that, though?" Chao-Xing asked. "To wait for something that might not happen?"

"No," Batwoman conceded. "No, we can't. You're right, at some point we need to take the offensive, or we'll never take out world back from his oppression."

"I'll help any way I can," Chao-Xing said.

"And we'll take all the help we can," Batwoman said.

"Do you know of others that can help us?" Chao-Xing asked.

Green Lantern answered. "I tried Oa, but they don't like getting involved in the internal politics of independent worlds. Because Vandal Savage is from Earth, they won't intervene."

"What about other heroes on Earth?"

Batwoman answered this time. "We know there was a cell in Africa, and we managed to make contact. Unfortunately, Vandal Savage was able to track the signal to them. We don't know what happened other than they were attacked and we lost contact."

"We should find people who are willing to fight," Chao-Xing said. "And take him down."

Batwoman shook her head. "A direct assault won't work, we're not strong enough."

"So you won't even try?"

"I'm not saying that," Batwoman said. "I know for certain that we have at least one ally within Vandal's ranks who feeds us information now and then. And Aquaria's loyalties are suspect, but if we try and fail, then innocent people will suffer for it. If we attack intending to take Vandal down, we have to make sure we succeed."

"Tell me about Aquaria?" Chao-Xing asked. "I'm not familiar."

Green Lantern answered. "She's made entirely out of water. I'd wager that she'd be particularly weak against your power set. Your abilities being energy-based."

"And the others?"

"You don't know the Elites?" Batwoman asked.

"I've only met a few. Fortunately."

"Well, there's Steelcrusher, Mindmasher, Techinizer, Killer Quick, Infernal, Overcharge, Hardlight, Aquaria; like we've mentioned, Deep Freeze, Duplicity, Visage, Kasab and Tremor."

"Tell me about Tremor?" Chao-Xing asked. "Never heard of her."

"Super strong," Batwoman answered. "She might even be stronger than Steelcrusher. I know she's tall. a whole third to two-fifths taller than the average person and arms that are thicker than some people's body."

Lantern added, "She knocked Superman around last time we fought. Took three of us even to slow her down. She's one of the more dangerous of the Elites."

"And Visage? I've heard her name, but I'm unfamiliar."

"Limited shape-shifter," Batwoman said. "Can shape-shift, but is limited to human form."

"And Inferno?"

"Infernal," Green Lantern corrected. "Fire based and she's hot to the touch, literally."

Chao-Xing stood up from the table. "I should probably log you in as administrators. Come on. The computer's this way."

* * *

The Batcave was a lot different than it had been a hundred years ago. While remnants of the old still existed like a museum of the Bat-clan lineage, it was now a high-tech base with all the amenities one could ever want. Wayne Manor was gone and had been for fifty years, torn down when it became too expensive to maintain. All that was left was the rusted main gate which had been concealed by moss and vegetation.

Batman and Superman arrived separately, and while the Man of Steel remained in his costume, Batman changed, putting on an old t-shirt and a pair of pants. Malcom Mcginnis; as he was known when not Batman, made his way over to Max.

"Any word on the excavation?" Malcom asked.

The holographic doppelganger AI of the late Maxine Gibson looked over at him from where she stood in the middle of the open area of the cave. She was semi-transparent and gave off a soft glow.

"Destroyed," she answered. "They used the orbital cannon to wipe it out about ten minutes ago."

Malcom didn't remember the human Maxine Gibson. He had been a baby when she died, having lived a full life. Her final act to ensure that the bat-clan always had the technical support they needed, had made a digital copy of her brain, and thus the artificial clone was born. While the AI did show herself as a hologram, her essence was stored in a five-by-five-centimetre cube installed into the cave's central computer system. She was invaluable. She had the smarts of the late Maxine, but with the processing speed of a modern supercomputer.

"So everything was lost," Malcom mused.

"Everything except what Vandal Savage was able to recover."

"Do you want me to try our contact?"

"Perhaps tomorrow. You and Superman need rest."

"What will you be doing?"

"Thinking," she answered.

Malcom leant up against the diagnostic table that lay near the large computer terminal. He knew what she tended to think about in her digitised brain. It was something that had haunted her since she had first been activated. Because she was a duplicate of the original Max, she had all her memories, her feelings, and in many ways her very being. When she had been switched on for the first time, she had believed she _was_ Max. From what others had told him, it had taken some time for her to accept the truth. Even today, twenty years later, she still sometimes forgot she wasn't the real Max.

To Malcom, it made no difference. This Max was the only one he had ever known, and once he got past the translucent holographic shimmer of her 'physical' form, he found that she was just as real as any person.

"Maybe you should take a break," Malcom said.

She shook her translucent head. "I don't need breaks."

"How do you know?"

She frowned at him. "Are you forgetting what I am?"

"Yeah, I know. Still, everybody needs to take a breather now and then."

"What do you suggest?" she asked. "Remember, I can't leave the cave, I can't project beyond these rock walls."

"I don't know. Maybe a game or something?"

"You're a little old for games," Max said, a glint forming in her eye. "I have to admit, though. I did enjoy playing games with you and Angela when you were younger. You were both so cute back then."

"What happened," Malcom joked with a smile.

"You're still cute," Max said. "Just in a different way."

"And you're beautiful," Malcom said before he could stop himself. "I-um, well-" he proceeded to stammer.

"Go get some rest," Max said.

Malcom nodded and headed for his room. He felt awkward and embarrassed. There was a reason his sister teased him when it came to Max. He had developed a crush on her when he was a teenager, and he had never gotten over it. What made it more awkward is that to her, he must still be a child. She had grown old knowing his family back to his great, great, great grandfather and Grandmother Terry Mcginnis and Dana Tan, who she had been friends with at school.

Malcom had seen old pics and vids of Max with Terry and Dana. When she had been a teenager, and into her early twenties, she had died her hair neon pink, before letting it go back to its natural black. It was hard to believe that it was the same person. Then he had to remind himself that they weren't the same person. The Max he knew was just a copy, and he knew that deep down it hurt her.

The light in his room, which was built into the walls of the cave, automatically switched on when he stepped inside. He closed the door behind him and kicked off his shoes before crashing onto the bed. He made a fool of himself in front of Max more often than he'd like.

He rubbed his eyes with his palms. How was it that he had fallen for a hologram? There was an answer and quite a simple one. Apart from his sister, Max was the only woman in his life. They were reclusive, not by choice but by necessity. As far as the rest of the world was concerned, they didn't exist, at least the real 'them'. Nobody outside the cave knew who Malcom McGinnis was. Sometimes he didn't know if even he knew who he was. He didn't feel like he could call himself Batman. He hadn't earned that right, yet, and besides with his sister also donning the mask, he would never have the chance to stand on his own.

Not that he'd want to.

Thus far, they had made a decent team though even together, they were still not what he would consider up to standard. It was tough living up to a legacy of the Bat, a figure who had not only managed to keep up with superhumans but stand alongside them as equals. He didn't know about his sister, but he didn't feel like he was there yet. He felt like the Justice League of legend would not have struggled so much with Vandal Savage. But what could they do when he had the world and they had four people?

Malcom knew that he shouldn't dwell too much on it. It made him miserable, but he couldn't help but feel that their fear of innocents getting hurt or killed had trapped them in a state of inaction.

The simple truth was that he didn't know how to break the cycle.


	6. Ep01-Ch06

**A Savage Future Part 01**

**Chapter 6**

Vandal Savage stood there staring out of the large window at the city of Metropolis beyond. He had received some good news, and he knew he had to grasp the opportunity. If he didn't, then it could easily slip through his grip like it had so many times before.

He turned from the window and looked at the congregation of Elites before him. Each one held a special power, though some were far more special than others.

Steelcrusher was his most trusted Elite. He was an Eastern European powerhouse of pain and got his nickname from several battles which resulted in the defeat of Superman. Vandal wondered if he would have stood a chance against Superman in his prime. He doubted it, though that wasn't the point. It didn't matter if he could defeat him then, only whether he could beat him now.

Mindmasher was his second most trusted and also second in line after Steelcrusher. Despite his diminutive size, Mindmasher was the secret power behind Vandal's reign. His ability to manipulate minds and turn his Enforcers loyal beyond question was a necessary feat. However, it was not something he could rely on too heavily. It wasn't foolproof, and more often than he would like it wore off, which was a concern. The cure for that was Mindmasher's ability to hide people's memories from them, often storing them in unique spheres. Those spheres were kept hidden. Vandal knew that if they were destroyed or damaged, those memories would reseat themselves into the minds of their owners. Bad news for Vandal if that happened.

Killer Quick was third in the hierarchy. She was, as her name suggested, quick. Though as far as historical speedsters went, she was glacial. Still, she was fifty times faster than the fastest sprinter, and her speed enhanced her strength. She was also quite ruthless and had been since before Vandal had even met her. If there was one to lead another coup against him, he knew it would likely be her that would lead it. After the first time, however, he doubted she would try. Two Daxamites had died in the first attempt and Vandal had been the one to kill them. That alone proved that he was not one to be trifled with.

The fourth was the African born Techinizer. He was the one that was currently designing the battle fleet which Vandal would use to take over the entire sector and begin his empire in earnest. Vandal had visions beyond Earth and the few colonies across the solar system. Why settle for one world when with his eternal life, he could build himself up to rule the universe? Techinizer was by far the smartest out of all of them. While he didn't have much use beyond his brain and cybernetic enhancements, he was one of the most important tools in Vandal's arsenal.

Infernal was next. Vandal honestly didn't know if she was a metahuman, an alien or a demon from the pits of Tartarus. What he did know was that her abilities with fire were next to none. In darkness or dim light, her skin and hair seemed to glow, and a simple touch was enough to burn flesh. Her true motivations were unknown to him, but she had never shown anything other than loyalty, so he had no reason to distrust her. Though in truth, Vandal didn't trust anyone.

Overcharge and Hardlight were brothers. Twins in fact, though one had blue eyes and the other dark brown. Outside the harnesses they had built they weren't much of a threat. In them, however, was a different story. Overcharge's suit gave him enhanced strength, speed and durability. Hardlight's suit gave him the ability to project holographic constructs, not unlike the energy constructs a Green Lantern could project. Unfortunately, Overcharge tended to be hot-headed, particularly as of late which had cost them a victory at the facility. If things didn't change, then Vandal would be forced to act, and he didn't like being forced to do anything.

The biggest mystery was Aquaria. Supposedly she was made by the Atlanteans as a protector. Her powers were entirely water-based, and she appeared to be made out of the element. Vandal had acquired her services in exchange for not invading their ocean cities. For now Vandal would honour their agreement, but when the time suited him, they would fall just like everyone else. He just needed to figure out how to either turn her entirely to his side or destroy her.

Deep Freeze was a scientist, and his ice powers were a result of genetic manipulation. He was a fanatic of ice-themed supervillains of old such as Mr Freeze and Killer Frost. He was a certified genius, like Techinizer, though his speciality was more genetics and cryogenics. He, unfortunately, had an adverse reaction to Infernal when the two got too close to each other. She on the other-hand seemed utterly unaffected by him. That was good to know if he ever got out of line.

Duplicity was the second-shortest member of the Elites, though her small size was made up for by her abilities. At a glance, she was just a woman with six digits on each hand, but she could duplicate herself. Her limit was around twelve copies, and while that was an unfortunately low number, she was also stronger than the average human, which gave her a slight edge.

Visage was a humanoid shapeshifter, though she was limited to the basic human form. While she preferred to be referred to as female, she had the general appearance of a male, at least from a distance. Up close she was rather androgynous. She was the most unique member of the Elites as well as the most visually striking, at least in his opinion. She was beautiful, playful and had developed a strong relationship with Aquaria. One that Vandal knew could become a problem in the future. Another problem with Visage was that she wasn't exactly what one would call loyal. Especially not to someone like him. To get her to fall in line, he'd had Mindmasher alter her memories. So far it had worked. But there was no telling what the future held.

Next was the Tamaranean, Kasab. Kasab was considered a weakling on his homeworld and had always felt inadequate because of it. He had come here to Earth because here he would no longer be the weakest but considered strong, which was something he craved. Vandal had granted him a position as an Elite, and while he wasn't the strongest, being more middle-of-the-road strength-wise, he could fly and was loyal. At least thus far.

Last, and potentially, one of the most dangerous of the Elites was Tremor. She was tall, strong and also problematic. Her natural state would be that of an enemy to Vandal, but like Visage, Mindmasher had seen to it that she was an ally. Vandal with the help of Deep Freeze had activated her metagene and turned her into the hulking giant of a woman she was today. Vandal had once believed Steelcrusher to be the strongest of his Elites, but after a rather loud argument between the two, Tremor had shown that she was by far the stronger, and to a concerning degree. Nevertheless, as long as her memories remained altered, she would be loyal.

Hopefully, with Mindmasher's help, they might just add two more to their little fold. That was the reason he had called them all here today.

Vandal Savage clasped his hands behind his back as he addressed them. "An opportunity has arisen, one that I cannot pass up. What remains of the Justice League cell in Africa has been found."

Steelcrusher grunted. "I thought we wiped them out?"

"Two still live free. Two that I want capturing. A magician and the phase shifter, Boundless."

"Captured?" Killer Quick said, unsure. "It would be better to simply kill them. Our attempt to capture Morningstar failed miserably."

Kasab took exception to that. "Green Lantern got in the way."

Vandal shot the Tamaranean a glare. "Do not try to pass the blame. Your failure has given Superman yet another ally." His demeanour then changed as a broad smile crossed his face. "Despite that minor setback, I have a plan."

With confidence, Vandal Savage began to outline what he had in mind.


End file.
